Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2331 for Friday July 1, 2022
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Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2331 for Friday July 1, 2022
Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2331 with a release date of Friday
July 1, 2022 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.
The following is a QST. Hams gather for Field Day in North America and
for Friedrichshafen in Germany. A special event honors an amateur radio humanitarian -- and look, up in the air, it's Kite POTA! All this and
more as Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2331 comes your way
rightnow.
**
BILLBOARD CART
**
AMATEURS IN US, CANADA, GET OUTDOORS FOR FIELD DAY
NEIL/ANCHOR: We begin this week remembering Field Day. From the Ramona
Outback Amateur Radio Society in California to the Great South Bay
Amateur Radio Club in New York and all points in between plus in
Canada, the ARRL Field Day lit up the bands on June 25th and 26th. As
always, Field Day put amateur radio on display to the public as
visitors everywhere stopped by where clubs and individuals were
operating outdoors, curious to learn about the equipment and the
antennas or to watch Morse Code and phone operators in action.
In central Florida, the Lake Monroe Amateur Radio Society got an extra
boost from the efforts of a station set up for use by club members who
are blind, specifically to make as many CW contacts as possible. The
ARRL noted on its website that operators could receive 100 bonus points
simply by sharing their details in posts on the ARRL Field Day Facebook
Group or elsewhere on all social media by using the hashtag #ARRLFD.
Regardless of the score, for everyone everywhere it was a day for
learning and for fellowship.
The ARRL had set a deadline for logs to be submitted by July 26th so
watch for the results.
(WESH CHANNEL 2, RAMONA SENTINEL, ARRL WEBSITE)
**
HAM RADIO EXPO RETURNS TO FRIEDRICHSHAFEN
NEIL/ANCHOR: In Europe, Ham Radio Expo made a triumphant return and
Newsline's Ed Durrant DD5LP was there.
ED: Last weekend saw the 45th Ham Radio Expo in Friedrichshafen, the
first after three years of lockdowns and two cancelled events. All were
eager to get back to the "Neue Messe" in Friedrichshafen on Lake
Constance in the south of Germany.
Turnout was expected to be around 10,000 compared to just under 14,000
in 2019. After the effects of the pandemic and with the current
inflation levels this is not a bad showing. While the main hall seemed
a little less full than normal due to the stands of Kenwood and Yaesu
not being there along with the large WIMO retailer, the flea market in
its two Zeppelin-sized halls was fuller than in 2019.
Talking with dealers and manufacturers, I learned they were all glad to
have, it seems, come through the pandemic. Several, however, said it
was close and another lockdown would have meant the end of their
businesses. Many are worried about parts supply and while most have
stockpiled components, their stock is dwindling.
Talking with the national societies and the IARU, I learned there is
concern on how we will keep our band allocations especially in the
microwave frequencies and a need is seen to have the hobby change and
be open to new technologies and possibilities to attract more people.
There were positive notes too: The Austrian national society's
president, Michael Zwingl, OE3MZC, was very enthusiastic over several
new projects.
An institute will be a platform for hams, makers and professionals to
work together on new technology projects in Austria. WRAN, will supply
a way for access from 6 metres, 2 metres and 70 centimetres into the Europe-wide HamNet, which is a 2.4 and 5 GHz ham radio high-speed RF
data network.
A Lora-based network linking low power IOT devices using the QO-100
satellite will enable data communications between devices across a
third of the world's surface.
Overall there was a very positive feel at HAM RADIO 2022 and as this
year's motto said, it was indeed "A reunion with friends." On Amateur
Radio Newsline we can only bring you a brief overview of the event. For
a more detailed report with interviews take a listen to our friends at ICQPodcast.com for their coverage.
For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Ed DD5LP.
**
SILENT KEY: ALPHA AMPS' RICHARD EHRORN W4EA/W4ETO
NEIL/ANCHOR: The man behind the highly successful company Ehrhorn
Technological Operations has become a Silent Key. Dick Ehrhorn
W4EA/W4ETO started the company in 1970 and began production of the line
of high-power Alpha RF amplifiers so popular in the amateur radio
community. Dick was a lifelong ham. Mary Bittner WB0PXM, told Newsline
that Dick and her late husband, the Rev. Paul Bittner, who had held the
call sign W0AIH, had been friends since their Minnesota high school
days when they met through a school amateur radio club. She described
Dick as a good friend and a man of faith.
She said Dick, who was in failing health, died on Sunday, June 26th in Virginia. He was 88.
(EHAM.NET, MARY BITTNER WB0PXM, FACEBOOK)
**
SPECIAL EVENT STATION TO HONOR DXPEDITIONER, HUMANITARIAN ZORRO
NEIL/ANCHOR: A special event is under way to celebrate the life of a
ham known globally as a man of adventure and compassion. That story
comes to us from Jason Daniels VK2LAW.
JASON: The gifts of friendship, humanitarian gestures and good DX that
filled the life of Zorro Miyazawa JH1AJT are being celebrated by
operators of a month-long special event station, 3D2AJT, in Fiji
through to late July. Zorro, who had cancer, became a Silent Key in
March of this year. Throughout his long amateur radio career, his
DXpeditions helped put notable and coveted DXs in the logbooks of hams
around the world. Zorro was also known for his charitable work on
behalf of children in Cambodia, Bangladesh, Japan and elsewhere. The
special event operators will be on the air using CW, SSB, FT4, FT8 and
varAC HF digital chat until the 27th of July, which would have been his
73rd birthday. According to the station's page on QRZ.com, the day on
the air will be marked with a farewell party organised by Zorro's widow
at one of the schools her husband founded in Fiji.
QSL via ClubLog.
For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Jason Daniels VK2LAW.
(DX-WORLD.NET, QRZ.COM)
**
TRANSMITTER TO REMAIN OFF THE AIR ON ALEXANDERSON DAY
NEIL/ANCHOR: In Sweden, the Grimeton Radio Station is opening its doors
to visitors at last this year but its historic transmitter must stay
off the air. Jeremy Boot G4NJH has those details.
JEREMY: For the first time since the pandemic began, the Alexander
Association in Sweden will be welcoming visitors to Alexanderson Day on
Sunday, 3rd July at the World Heritage Grimeton Radio Station.
Unfortunately, the 98-year-old mechanical transmitter will be unable to
get on the air. A note on the association website reports that a
shortage of components prevents this Alexanderson Day tradition from
happening.
The 200 kW transmitter with the call sign SAQ will be started up twice
and visitors to the radio station can be present but no transmission
will be made into the top-loaded vertical antenna customarily used for
17 kHz transmissions. The transmitter was developed by the radio
pioneer Ernst Alexanderson of Sweden who was an engineer at General
Electric in the United States. It first went on the air in 1924.
For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Jeremy Boot G4NJH.
(THE ALEXANDERSON ASSOCIATION)
**
BREAK HERE: Time for you to identify your station. We are the Amateur
Radio Newsline, heard on bulletin stations around the world including
the N5OZG repeater in New Orleans, Louisiana on Sundays at 8 p.m.
**
THIRTEEN COLONIES SPECIAL EVENT RUNS THROUGH JULY 8TH
NEIL/ANCHOR: Get ready for the annual mad dash for a Clean Sweep with
the 13 Colonies Special Event. Jim Damron N8TMW brings us that report.
JIM: The Thirteen Colonies Special Event, one of the amateur radio
calendar's most popular activities, starts calling QRZ starting Friday,
July 1st at 1300 UTC. Operators will be based on each of the original
13 US colonies and at bonus stations in England, Pennsylvania and
France. The event runs through July 8th at 0400 UTC. The event honors
the original 13 colonies that fought for American independence and
honors military veterans and those still active in the service.
This 14th annual nonprofit event is also dedicated to Tom Francis,
W1TEF, who had served as the state manager for South Carolina, which is
using the special event call sign K2L. Tom became a Silent Key in March
of 2020.
For further details on the event, including the modes being used, visit
the website www.13colonies.us - that's w w w numeral ONE, numeral THREE colonies dot us. You can also visit the QRZ page for any of the
colonies or for bonus station TM13COL in France, GB13COL in England and
WM3PEN in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Jim Damron N8TMW
(13 COLONIES SPECIAL EVENT)
**
SHOPPING FOR QSOS AT WALMART
NEIL/ANCHOR: One of the more zany on-the-air events is back for its
third run. WalMart Parking Lots on the Air will be held on July 2 from
0000Z to 2359Z to coincide with the birthday of the famous chain ofAmericanstores. The exchange must take place on an amateur radio
satellite and include the callsign and either the WalMart store number
or grid square. Activators -- or "associates" as they are called by the
event organizers -- are asked to use the store number to reduce
duplicate contacts. Rules and award information are online
atwmplota.org. So don't miss out on bonuses like the birthday special
or the MacGyver. Put on your pajamas and aluminum foil hat, grab the
rig, and head to a store parking lot near you.
**
SOUTH AFRICA ANNOUNCES NEWEST LICENSEES
NEIL/ANCHOR: South Africa has announced its newest licensed radio
amateurs. Jim Meachen ZL2BHF has that report.
JIM: South Africa has welcomed its newest amateur radio operators,
following exam sessions for Class A and B licences that were held
recently. Seventy-four who took the Class A exam on May 21st
successfully completed its 60 multiple-choice test questions, according
to the South African Radio League.The Class A licence permits a maximum
of 400 watts of power.
A Class B exam was held on the 11th of June hosted by the ZS3ZU
Hammies. All seven young operators who took the 30-question exam
passed. To mark the occasion, three of the new amateurs took part in
the Hammies Sprint being held the next day - Sunday the 12th of June
-running the ZS3ZU station. The Class B licence, issued to operators
younger than 21, permits a maximum output of 100 watts of power on HF,
VHF and UHF bands. The licence is only valid until holders reach their
25th birthday..
For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Jim Meachen ZL2BHF.
(SOUTHGATE, SARL)
**
WORKSHOP EXPLORES DISASTER COMMUNICATION AND THE PRESS
NEIL/ANCHOR: A workshop held jointly by groups in India and Japan took
an in depth look at communicating with the press during disasters. We
have more details from John Williams VK4JJW.
JOHN: Amateur radio operators were among those in attendance during a disaster-risk workshop held jointly on Friday, June 24th, by
organisations in India and Japan. Attendees were there to tackle the
challenge of communicating with the press about disasters. Specialists
from Japan and India teamed up for the full day of presentations hosted
by the Press Club of Kolkata. Both nations' governments gave their
support to the event, which also marked 70 years of diplomatic
relations between Japan and India. Described as a media sensitisation
program, it united responders, government agencies and media managers
to discuss various aspects of handling information and news coverage
about risks during disasters.
For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm John Williams VK4JJW.
(ASIAN COMMUNITY NEWS, AMBARISH NAG BISWAS, VU2JFA)
**
WORLD OF DX
In the World of DX, Rafael, NN3RP will be active from Granada,
Nicaragua as YN2RP during July 5. He will be operating on the HF bands,
FM satellites, and will be using FT8/FT4, CW, RTTY, VarAC, and SSB. QSL
via LoTW and eQSL.
Be listening for Pete, ZL4TE, operating as E51RMP from the Cook islands
during July 14th through 21st. Although he will be mainly on Rarotonga,
he will make a side trip Aitutaki, IOTA number OC-083, on July 18th and
19th. Be listening on the HF bands. He will be QRP. QSL to Pete's
homecall.
FIrst-time contest participant VK5KI will be on the air for the Radio
Society of Great Britain's IOTA Contest from Kangaroo Island, IOTA
number OC-139, off South Australia's coast, from Friday July 29th to
Sunday July 31st. The station will operate in CW and SSB. Before the
contest, be listening on 80m through 10m. During the contest, be
listening on 80/40/20/15/ and 10m. QSL via Charles M0OXO.
Be listening also for KL7RRC from Kiska Island, NA-070, during the RSGB
IOTA contest on July 30th and 31st. Send QSLs to N7RO.
(DX-WORLD.NET)
**
KICKER: GETTING A STRING OF CONTACTS WITH A KITE
NEIL/ANCHOR: For our final story, we introduce a radio amateur who is
lucky enough to have found a way to combine two things she really loves
- amateur radio and flying kites. Mike Askins KE5CXP tells us about her adventures in Kite POTA.
MIKE: Lisa Neuscheler (Newsh-Lurr) KC1YL has found a way to string
together her Parks on the Air contacts from as close to her Florida
home as Texas and as far away as the western states, the Caribbean and
Europe. That's because the string she uses is the string of a kite. The
kite enthusiast launched her first high-flying ham radio antenna in
October of last year on Florida's east coast with friends. Back home on
the west coast near Tampa, she and her small team have done eight kite activations since that time. This past March, she was on Florida's
Honeymoon Island when she achieved her first POTA kite-to-kite contact
with another team that also brought their kite there.
Lisa told Newsline that she credits Kourt de Haas, KB5PRZ, with
inspiring her lofty goals after she learned that the Texas amateur
accomplished his QSO with her in 2016 - while she was still living in Connecticut - using an antenna on a kite over the Gulf of Mexico. Now
she runs along the Florida beaches with a POTA kite team of her own,
including Julie NF1T, Jack W1BBU and others.
Her next challenge is a longer-distance POTA kite-to-kite contact with
her friend Paul W1IP in Connecticut. Their first attempt on June 13th
was scrapped by insufficient wind on Paul's local beach. Lisa made 95
regular POTA contacts that day using her kite antenna but none were
made with Paul. So they're trying again on July 11th.
Lisa told Newsline: [quote] "You have to be happy when you are holding
a kite string." [endquote] No doubt she'll be even happier if on that
day the wind helps carries her ambition to reality. You might even say
it will be uplifting.
For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Mike Askins KE5CXP.
**
NEWSCAST CLOSE: With thanks to the Alexanderson Association; ARRL; CQ
Magazine; David Behar K7DB; DXWorld.net; Eham.Net; Facebook; Mary
Bittner, WB0PXM; Ohio Penn DX; QRZ.com; the Ramona Sentinel; South
African Radio League; Southgate Amateur Radio News; shortwaveradio.de;
Thirteen Colonies Special Event; WESH Channel 2; and you our listeners,
that's all from the Amateur Radio Newsline. We remind our listeners
that Amateur Radio Newsline is an all-volunteer non-profit organization
that incurs expenses for its continued operation. If you wish to
support us, please visit our website at arnewsline.org and know that we appreciate you all.
For now, with Caryn Eve Murray KD2GUT at the news desk in New York, and
our news team worldwide, I'm Neil Rapp WB9VPG in Union, Kentucky saying
73. As always we thank you for listening.
Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) is Copyright 2022. All rights reserved.
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